The Carpe Diem Project

If there is one thing in this life that my brain cannot get a handle on, it's time. Represented by hands on the clock, falling sand, a shadow across the sidewalk, time is something we can never seem to have enough of. We know a minute is composed of sixty seconds, an hour of sixty minutes, a day of twenty four hours, and yet some minutes drag on for hours while others last merely seconds. Once a moment passes, it is gone forever, only leaving behind shadows in the form of memories easily forgotten. The same can be said for life. No matter how many weeks, months, years we are given on the earth, once it ends, life on Planet Earth is over indefinitely. This is a common fact of life, heavy and sobering. So why is it that we take it so lightly? Why is it that we sit around and stare at each other wondering how to simply pass time that, once gone, can never be retrieved again?

I recently had a conversation with a friend wise beyond his years on this very topic over some hot chocolate.

"People settle instead of going after their dreams," he told me. "They make excuses. The only thing that can limit you, is you."

So, I decided I'm not going to settle. I'm done with making excuses. 

James 4:14 makes a powerful statement: "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." I don't know about you, but thinking of my life as a mist calls for some changes in priorities. I firmly believe time is a precious gift from God, and how we choose to use it reflects our devotion to Him. Keeping this in mind, a statistic I read in the book Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman stated that, by 65 years of age, the average person will have spent twelve years in front of the TV. I am super not ok with this!

So in light of these facts, what is a chronic time-waster to do? With God as my witness (I know He wholeheartedly backs me up on this, in fact I think He's been trying to get it through my thick skull for awhile now), I am proposing the Carpe Diem Project in hopes of turning things around. 

Here's how this is going to work.

1. For three months, I'm going to do my best to live like my life is a mist. 

2. This means....

     -Treating every moment as a gift

     -Being intentional and deliberate with my use of time

     -Honoring God in all I say and do

3. I will only watch TV if it provides an opportunity to fellowship and spend time with friends, or help me to keep from throwing up when I run on the treadmill.

4. Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest) gets 20 minutes of my day. No more, no less.

5. I no longer will provide lodging in my brain for worry, stress, or negativity.

6. Time not spent with friends, in class, doing homework, or working will be spent in three ways: learning, enhancing, and doing.

Learning:  I cannot tell you the last time I read a book to learn something new or just for fun. I want to re-develop this habit and pick up some knowledge along the way. 

Enhancing: There is always room for improvement, whether it is in relationships or skills. I want to spend more time with God and people, as well as writing and creating. 

Doing: I have always hated sitting around, and unfortunately I've slowly let myself settle to doing "nothing" when I find extra time. No longer! Time to get up and get moving, which means seeing new places, trying new things, and exploring what creation has to offer. 

7. I'm planning on tracking my progress. I have an inkling that this little "experiment" is going to radically change things for me, and once May whatever rolls around, it will no longer be a project, but a way of life. 

I know and accept I will mess up from time to time. There will be days where I am tempted to "kill time" by engaging in the mindless activities that suck me in far too easily. But, with the help of my Father, I'm committing to this. I can't afford not to.